German Patent No. DE 103 61 042 B3 describes a vehicle parking brake capable of producing a clamping force that holds the vehicle at a standstill. The parking brake has as an actuator an electrical brake motor upon the actuation of which a brake piston bearing a brake lining is displaced axially in the direction towards a brake disk.
If an electrical or mechanical defect occurs during the clamping or closing process of the parking brake, the controlling of the electrical brake motor can be interrupted. In order to make it possible to restart the vehicle subsequent to this, the parking brake must be released. The release path traveled in the direction of release by the electrical brake motor, or by an actuating element driven by the brake motor, can be determined on the basis of rotational speed signals detected during the closing process.